What’s that Smell?
H OW THE P INE F OREST IN YOUR
C LEANING P RODUCT MAY BE
H AZARDOUS TO Y OUR H EALTH
I
magine yourself in a flower garden, a shady pine
forest, a lemon grove on a summer day or on a
tropical island at sunset. Peaceful, joyous images
come to mind for most of us—and this is exactly what the
manufacturers of many cleaning products aim to deliver
to your very own home! But most of us are unaware
that thousands of synthetic chemicals are used to create
modern day fragrances for our products. Unfortunately,
some common fragrance ingredients used in cleaning
products pose potential health hazards.
What is Fragrance?
The term “fragrance” refers to any substance, either
natural or man-made, which conveys an odor or scent.
Any one fragrance can be made up of potentially hundreds
of different ingredients. Typically, fragrances created
for cosmetic and cleaning products are dominated by
synthetic, as opposed to natural plant-based, ingredients.
Estimates indicate 80-90% of the raw materials used in
fragrances today are synthetic.
How Are We Exposed to Fragrance?
When we use a fragranced product in our homes, we all
inhale or absorb some of those toxic fragrance chemicals
into our bodies. Chemicals like synthetic musks and
phthalates, for example, have been detected in blood,
urine and fat tissue in nearly every human tested. The
levels of these chemicals in our bodies appear to be
linked to the amounts of fragranced products we use. For
example, one study found that greater use of fragranced
laundry detergent during pregnancy led to significantly
higher levels of synthetic musks in the woman’s breast
milk. Women can pass these chemicals on to developing
children when they breast feed. Another study found
higher levels of musks in the blood of women who
regularly used fragranced body lotion, deodorant and
perfume.
A FACT S HEET BY W OMEN ’S V OICES
CHEMICALS OF CONCERN
COMMONLY FOUND IN FRAGRANCE
USED IN CLEANING PRODUCTS
Allergens: N u mero us f ragra nce i ngre d i e nt s,
even thos e w hic h are natu ral co mp o und s
fo u nd in lavender oil and l em on o il, for
exampl e, c an lead to al l ergies in s e ns it i ve
pers ons. E xpo su re to al l erg ens in f ragrance
throu g h inhal at io n or abs or ption thro ug h
the s k in c an c au s e sk in and eye ir r i tati o n,
as we ll as mo re s er i ou s im pac t s s uc h a s
breathing probl ems.
Synthetic Musks: Sy nthetic mu sk s a re man-
made c hemic als produ ced to rep l i c ate
mu s k scents o r iginal l y obtained f rom m usk
deer and mu s k ox. The m os t co mmo nl y
u s ed s ynthetic m us k s are the pol yc ycl i c
mu s k s, g al axo l ide and to nal ide, a nd t wo
t ypes o f nitro mu s k s, m u s k x y l ene a nd
mu s k keton e. R esearch indic ate s t h at
s ynthetic mu s ks don’t break down i n
the env ironment, c an acc u mu l ate i n o ur
b odies, are potential hor mo ne di s rup tors
and m ay break dow n the bo dy ’s de fe nse s
ag ains t o ther toxic c hem ic al exp o su re.
Phthalates: Phthal ates are a c l ass o f
c hem ic als u sed in f ra grance that d o n ot
contr ibu te a s ce nt, l ik e mu s k s or p l ant
es sences do, bu t rather ac t as s ol ve nt s
and c ar r ier s for thos e c hemical s th at
create the s cent in a fragrance. Pht ha l ate s
have been s how n to c au s e repro d uc t ive
and devel o pm ental har m i n l aborator y
animal s, and are l inked to simil ar i mpac t s
in hu man s.
(continued on back side)
FOR THE E ARTH — JUNE 2010
Women are More Impacted by Fragranced
Cleaning Products than Men
Women are targeted by fragrance marketing, since they
tend to make the vast majority of household purchasing
decisions, especially for cleaning products. Unfortunately,
women are more likely than men to experience adverse
health effects from exposure to fragrance. For example,
women are more likely to have fragrance allergies than men.
In addition, women are more vulnerable to the potential
hormone-disrupting effects of fragrance ingredients,
which can affect fertility and pregnancy. Exposures to even
small levels of toxic fragrance chemicals during pregnancy
may pose lifelong health impacts on our children.
How Can We Avoid
Harmful Fragrance Chemicals?
By reducing exposure to fragrance chemicals, we can
lessen health impacts and lower the levels of these
chemicals in our bodies. However, most information about
cleaning product ingredients, and fragrance ingredients
in particular, is kept secret from consumers, making it
difficult to tell which products are better than others.
There is currently no legal requirement for cleaning
product companies to disclose their ingredients. While
some manufacturers voluntarily disclose some cleaning
product ingredients, very few are listing fragrance
ingredients. This means that even if ingredients are
disclosed for a cleaning product, the word “fragrance” may
appear, but the individual chemicals which make up that
fragrance will not be listed.
Currently, the only practical solution is to reduce or
completely avoid fragranced products entirely. This is
simply an unfair choice: we must either abstain from the
pleasures of fragrance or assume potential health risks.
There is a Better Way!
We should be able to enjoy fragranced products without
worrying about impacts to our health. Manufacturers of
fragranced cleaning products can and should make this
possible for their customers:
▼ Companies should voluntarily disclose all
fragrance ingredients in fragranced products
directly on the product label, where it helps you
the most.
2
What You Can Do:
▼ Reduce or eliminate your use of fragranced
products. Download WVE’s Alternatives to
Fragranced Cleaning Products.
▼ Download the full report “What’s That
Smell?” from the Women’s Voices for the
Earth website, www.womensvoices.org
which includes tips and alternatives for
avoiding fragranced cleaning products.
▼ Support the work of Women’s Voices for
the Earth. Sign up for the WVE Action
Network to learn more about how you
can support policies that protect us from
toxic chemical exposure, and make a
donation in support of WVE’s work at
www.womensvoices.org .
▼ Manufacturers should reformulate their products to
eliminate chemicals of concern, such as phthalates
and synthetic musks, from their products and
replace them with safer alternatives.
The government should be taking steps to protect us:
▼ Federal and state legislation is needed that
requires product-specific disclosure of all
ingredients, including fragrance ingredients.
▼ Federal and state legislation is needed that
requires fragrance to meet an unbiased
standard of safety.
Women’s Voices for the Earth
P.O. Box 8743
Missoula, MT 59807
Phone: 406/543-3747
www.womensvoices.org
womensvoices@womensvoices.org